2013 All-CCIW Baseball Team

A total of seven North Park baseball players were named to the All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin team for the 2013 season.

Seniors Kyle Williams and Lou Diaz, along with junior Eric Sousanes earned First Team All-CCIW honors, while senior Mike Kane, sophomores Joe Belmonte and Wesley Mleziva and junior Nick Vidas earned Second Team All-CCIW honors.

“This is a great honor for these young men,” North Park head coach Luke Johnson said. “Our guys battled through some adversity this season and we had some tough times, but it's great to see this many of our student-athletes earn this recognition.”

Williams, a native of Cary, Illinois and a junior college transfer from McHenry Community College, earned the first All-CCIW honor of his collegiate career. He started in 41 of 42 games this season and ranked second on the team in batting average (.355) and had a team-best 61 hits, including seven doubles, a team-leading five triples and one home run. He was twice named CCIW Player of the Week this season and was tied for the team lead in runs batted in (RBI). He also stole a team third-best eight bases in 12 attempts.

After being absent from last year's team, Diaz, a native of Chicago, returned for his senior season to earn his first-ever All-CCIW selection as well. As the Vikings' designated hitter, Diaz had a team third-best batting average (.349) and he started in 30 of the 33 games he played in. In addition, Diaz was second on the team in home runs (2). In 106 at-bats, he had 37 hits, including a team second-best nine doubles and 22 RBI.

Sousanes, a junior from Aurora, Illinois and a graduate of Waubonsie Valley High School, started in all 39 games he played in and carried a team sixth-best .319 batting average with a team second-best nine doubles and one triple. He also drove in 17 runs and had 22 runs scored along with seven stolen bases in 13 attempts.

In his first season with the Vikings after transferring from NCAA Division I Northern Illinois University, Kane nearly broke the North Park University baseball single-season record for doubles as he connected for a team-best 16. He started in all 42 games this season and had a team fourth-best .340 batting average. He ranked second on the team with 54 hits, including a team-best three home runs and 34 RBI.

Belmonte, a native of Elk Grove, Illinois, earned the first All-CCIW selection of his collegiate career as he carried a team seventh-best .318 batting average. Switching between the catcher and first base positions, Belmonte started in 37 of the 39 games he played and had 42 hits, including six doubles and 22 RBI. Belmonte also recorded a team-best .991 fielding percentage with 292 putouts and only three errors.

As one of the top pitchers on the staff, Mleziva, a native of Green Bay, Wisconsin and a graduate of Southeast High School, carried a team third-best 3.21 earned run average. He appeared in 13 games and made 11 starts, posting a 5-3 record. In 73 innings pitched, Mleziva struck out 41 batters and walked only 22 while recording one complete-game and a shutout.

Vidas, a junior college transfer from Oakton Community College, led the Vikings with a 2.07 earned run average and an unprecedented four complete games. He was named CCIW Pitcher of the Week once, and posted a 6-3 record, appearing in 16 games and making eight starts. In 74 innings pitched, he struck out 40 batters and walked only 13 while earning two saves.

North Park finished the 2013 season with an even 21-21 record and a 12-9 mark in the conference. They qualified for their fourth-straight CCIW postseason tournament this year.